“Tremendous” has several meanings, each cast in very deep shadow.
Good grief. “Experience” might be life at DCC after Jinters.

By power of office, the mayor is responsible for the districts of Dunedin and Central Otago having a non-compliant EXTREMELY DANGEROUS POWER NETWORK. SECURITY OF SUPPLY is a novel idea. Further, the mayor is ‘religiously’ of the opinion that sea level is rising rapidly [scientific measurement shows this as patently untrue]. He vows that Climate Change is the reason South Dunedin flooded in June 2015, NOT his council’s abject failure to maintain STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE. Nope, the mayor has not been himself since Jinters. He is left shamelessly repeating his wrongful greenie “perceptions” to cleanse, it seems, the feet of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment – a worse custard of deceptive thinking and lack of practical governance cannot be imagined.
Makes the ears grow.

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Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Mayor Dave Cull appointed LGNZ Vice President

This item was published on 09 Dec 2016

Mayor of Dunedin Dave Cull has been appointed Vice President of Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ). The appointment was made at today’s LGNZ National Council meeting. The National Council met for the first time this week to discuss priorities for the coming triennium. Mr Cull was appointed to the Vice President vacancy left by former Horowhenua Mayor Brendan Duffy. Mr Cull will remain in the role until the LGNZ AGM in July 2017 when elections will be held for the President and Vice President roles. Mr Cull says, “I’m really pleased to have the opportunity to further represent the local government sector, particularly to central government on major issues such as the Local Government Amendment Bill [*weeps], managing water allocation [!!!] and climate change [wtf].” LGNZ President Lawrence Yule says the LGNZ National Council has had a refresh following the recent local elections and he’s thrilled with the quality of the new Council. “Mayor Cull has tremendous experience and will be an excellent Vice President,” Mr Yule says. LGNZ represents the national interests of councils in New Zealand and leads best practice in the local government sector. It is governed by the LGNZ National Council, made up of 15 elected members from throughout New Zealand. Mr Cull has been on the LGNZ National Council since 2010, and recently was also elected as the Metro Sector Chair. More details about the new LGNZ National Council are available at www.lgnz.co.nz
Contact the Mayor of Dunedin on 03 477 4000.DCC Link

“The extensive provision of benefits to staff at all levels of their teams resulted in a culture where corruption flourished and was normalised, with no questions asked. There was very little chance of disgruntled or principled employees speaking out as everyone was being ‘looked after’ or was compromised.” –Brian Dickey, SFO prosecutor

### NZ Herald Fri, 9 Dec 2016 at 10:05 a.m.Council manager guilty of majority of corruption charges
By Matt Nippert
A roading contractor and a council manager have been found guilty of corruption in a case exposing what the prosecution called a “culture of corruption” among Auckland council staff administering tens of millions of dollars in roading contracts. Justice Sally Fitzgerald delivered her verdict this in the High Court at Auckland this morning in the long-running trial of former Auckland Transport senior manager Murray Noone and roading engineer contractor Stephen Borlase. Noone was found guilty on six charges of receiving $1.2 million in bribes from Borlase. Borlase, in turn, was found guilty on eight charges of offering bribes to Noone and other council staff. Borlase was found not guilty on four charges of dishonestly using a document to allegedly inflate invoices to council. The corrupt relationship ran from 2006 until 2012, from Noone worked at Rodney District Council, continuing when he joined Auckland Transport following the supercity merger.Read more

Wed, 7 Dec 2016ODT: Delta, Aurora report for release by Monday
A report on under-fire Dunedin City Council-owned companies Delta and Aurora is expected to be made public by Monday. Mayor Dave Cull said he hoped the report could be released before that day, following a non-public council discussion on the issue that lasted well over an hour yesterday. Dunedin City Holdings Ltd director Keith Cooper faced a grilling from councillors when he gave them a “progress report” on an investigation by consultant Deloitte into the companies. Cont/

Sat, 3 Dec 2016ODT: Report discussion behind closed doors
Discussion of a Deloitte report on troubled council-owned companies Aurora and Delta on Tuesday will be behind closed doors, and it is uncertain when they will make it into the public arena. Mayor Dave Cull said the report was not finished yet, despite predictions of an early December completion date. It will be discussed by the Dunedin City Council on Tuesday in a non-public session. Mr Cull said the Dunedin City Holdings Ltd board got a progress report on the investigation yesterday. The board would pass on that report at the council meeting on Tuesday. The agenda for the meeting noted discussion of the report would be in a non-public section of the meeting as “the withholding of the information is necessary to protect information where the making available of the information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information”. As well, the withholding of the information was necessary to enable the council to “carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities”. Cont/

Inner city Dunedin is NOT a freaking circus or Disneyland.
Obviously, the bozos at ORC/DCC think differently.

Here is something CHEAP-NASTY-like:

Troughing consultants, transportation planners and those who purport to be ‘urban design’ from both councils appear to be barely out of grade school —my god, it shows (see video).

PRIMARY SCHOOL
Colouring in, by non-learned non-contextualists —who manage do it so very BADLY. This is absolute proof that Landscape Architecture at Dunedin is DEAD, BANKRUPT and bloody SMELLY. My cardboard box of pet maggots could design “the interchange” better. They could: swiftly, cleanly, without the disease that is ‘the carnival-scathed’ at local government.

Junior short-term work experience only, no proven local body management expertise or ‘factory floor’ experience whatsoever, now make for ‘team leader’ placements at Dunedin. That’s how tragic the workpool is. Low shoulder-tapping at the tertiary institution is no substitute for a smart council workforce, not that we have a hope in hell of attracting one.

Business leaders need to Take Dunedin!
By Storm, from the doughbrains at local government.
But Business leaders, Entrepreneurs and Investors now have the Largest, most IMMENSE PROBLEM.

At this un-populous sinking town :
At the productive, growth-generating Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes :THERE IS NO AFFORDABLY SAFE AND SECURE POWER SUPPLY
None! This is All down to leaders, councillors, directors and executives at DCC, DCHL, Delta and Aurora.

And ORC/DCC think the sorry ratepayers and residents can afford an improved, convenient and efficient bus system. Ho. Ho. Ho.

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Apart from or because of the buses making losses….

Clearly, the proposed changes to the bus system are NOT designed to embrace the Accessible Journey —to enhance the experience of city travel for mobility impaired citizens.

The Regional Public Transport Plan 2014 and the Dunedin City Integrated Transport Strategy 2013 DO NOT anticipate the growth of Uber, new technology or ‘other’ vehicular modes of travel, or indeed anything that is the future of transport at (Our Place) Dunedin.

The proposed changes are NOT subject to ANY ECONOMIC STUDIES to safeguard businesses, vehicle users, and the users of public transport, city-wide. None! So Predictable. So Deficient. So Grossly Negligent.

Coloured road markings, a Fun Distraction when there’s a MASSIVE POWER BLACKOUT at Dunedin.

*Note: DCC does not have a spare ONE BILLION DOLLARS in the bank to right Aurora/Delta’s wrongs.

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The Otago Regional Council says:

Dunedin Bus Interchange (hub)
Dunedin’s public transport is changing. Since the adoption of the Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP) in 2014, Otago Regional Council (ORC) has been rolling out network wide changes to create an affordable and connected public transport system in Dunedin. While many of these changes focus on implementing direct and stable bus routes with regular frequencies, we are also looking to improve the accessibility of the bus services, information, and infrastructure. As part of these changes we are providing a bus interchange (hub) in the city centre to make your bus journey better.

There are several things the ORC can do immediately to signal its serious intent in improving services to its ratepayers. (ODT)

### ODT Online Wed, 7 Dec 2016Editorial: Bus hub challenges
OPINION Public transport is essential in any major centre and now Dunedin faces its own challenges with the release of the long-awaited central-city bus hub plans. The Otago Regional Council is seeking community feedback on the hub planned for Great King St, near the central police station. It includes five parking bays on each side of the street. […] The idea of a Great King St hub cannot be taken seriously if people are going to be forced off one bus and on to another in quick time. […] Dunedin’s central area is the Octagon and the regional council needs to recognise the need to keep buses flowing through the Octagon.Read more

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Bus hub part of $3million transport project, including “super stops”. 38 car parks lost from Great King St between Moray Pl and St Andrew St.

### ODT Online Mon, 5 Dec 2016Dunedin bus hub details released
By John Gibb
The Otago Regional Council has unveiled its long-awaited central Dunedin bus hub plans and is seeking community feedback. The bus hub, also termed the “bus interchange”, is, as previously signalled, in Great King St, near the central police station. It includes five parking bays on each side of the street. […] The size and style of bus shelters are partly dependent on public feedback, and also on any negotiations required with owners of nearby land, to be undertaken early next year. It is also proposed to use paints or other coloured materials, including on part of the street, to give the hub area a more lively appearance.Read more

### ODT Online Wed, 7 Dec 2016Delta, Aurora report for release by Monday
By David Loughrey
A report on under-fire Dunedin City Council-owned companies Delta and Aurora is expected to be made public by Monday.
Mayor Dave Cull said he hoped the report could be released before that day, following a non-public council discussion on the issue that lasted well over an hour yesterday. Dunedin City Holdings Ltd director Keith Cooper faced a grilling from councillors when he gave them a “progress report” on an investigation by consultant Deloitte into the companies.Read more

“If Deloitte was caught with one such brazenly egregious case, just what else is there that goes unreported, and undiscovered when it comes to corporate “books”, not only in Brazil but also in the US.”

### zerohedge.com Dec 5, 2016 9:43 PMAuditor Deloitte Fined A Record $8 Million For Massive Fraud
By Tyler Durden
Remember when auditors were, by their very definition, supposed to be the embodiment of credibility, trustworthiness and moral fibre? The Brazilian arm of Big Four auditing giant, Deloitte, forgot these simple prerequisites and as a result the US auditing watchdog fined the firm a record $8 million for what amounts to massive fraud: falsifying audit reports, altering documents and providing false testimony during an investigation that unearthed what it described as its “most serious” finding of misconduct.
The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, also penalised or barred 12 former partners, including a national practice director, and auditors of the Brazil-based Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Auditores Independentes.
The Deloitte Brazil case is the first time the PCAOB has “charged a member of the Big Four auditing firms with fraud and for failing to co-operate with an investigation” according to the FT [Financial Times]. Worse, unlike banks which resolve similar cases without admitting or denying guilt, in settling, Deloitte Brazil admitted it had violated quality control standards and failed to co-operate with the auditing board’s inspection and subsequent investigation.
“This is the most serious misconduct we’ve uncovered. It’s cover-up after cover-up after cover-up,” Claudius Modesti, director of enforcement at the PCAOB, said. “As an investor you’re expecting that the audit was done properly and sufficiently and that wasn’t the case here.”
Not only was that not the case, but the details read like straight out of a fictional account of third-world crime.Read more

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd, commonly referred to as Deloitte, is a UK-incorporated multinational professional services firm with operational headquarters in New York City in the United States.
Deloitte is one of the “Big Four” accounting firms and the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of professionals. Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, enterprise risk and financial advisory services with more than 244,400 professionals globally. In FY 2016, the company earned a record $36.8 billion USD in revenues. As of 2016, Deloitte is the 6th-largest privately owned organisation in the United States.

Remember the old chestnut…. The connection between TTCF (The Trusts Community Foundation Ltd; formerly, The Trusts Charitable Foundation Inc) —and Deloitte.

“TTCF engaged Deloitte when they desperately needed an ‘independent’ audit so as to put the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and Audit NZ off the scent. Unfortunately, even though Deloitte uncovered approximately $40k per month in mis-spent funds, TTCF ensured that was left out of the report because after all they were paying the Deloitte bill.”

12 sets of images taken in George St and at the Octagon family concert on Sunday afternoon. The series (lowres here) is subject to further editing and will eventually convert to WordPress slideshows.

[click to enlarge]

Set #1 [10]

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Set #2 [11]

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Set #3 New Zealand Fire Service [10]

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Set #4 [10]

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Set #5 [10]

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Set #6 [10]

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Set #7 [10]

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Set #8 [10]

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Set #9 [10]

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Set #10 [12]

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Set #11 [12]

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Set #12 [10]

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Mon, 5 Dec 2016ODT: So you’d better be good …
In the most pointed reminder yet that parents only have three weeks to fill the space beneath the tree in their lounge, Mr Claus and his crew marched down George St yesterday in Dunedin’s 19th annual Santa Parade. Thousands lined George St, the Octagon and Princes St from Duke St to Moray Pl. Santa was joined by the usual suspects. […] It was believed to be the biggest turnout to the parade in recent years. A total of 80 floats took part. Cont/